Ya gotta experience it to believe it

All I can say is I am happy that I get to run around town with Victor getting this paperwork done or else I would not believe that so little could be done in one day. Friday, with birth certificte in hand, we leave the apartment early and go to the tax office. Our goal was to finish all paperwork needed to submit the passport appllication by the end of the day. The tax office opened at 9:00 and we were there by 8:30. At about 10:00, Vitalik, the minor child, signed something that allowed us to have the new tax ID number and off we go to get to the "birth certificate legalization office" by 11:00. Good thing Vitalik was with us, by the way, even though no one thought he was needed. Birth certificate legalizaion means the certificate gets a stamp or seal of some sort. But for some reason this will take 4 hours so off we go to the orphanage to sign final papers there. We pick up the Inspector along the way; make it to the orphanage; and meet with the lawyer since the Director is on vacation. The official exchange is made; the lawyer tells Vitalik he is no longer theirs while Vitalik claps his hands with glee because he has "money, ma, money" in his bank account that he gets to withdraw when he is 18 years of age. Oh, and while sitting there during this momentous occassion, I am trying to explain to him why he cannot just make up an email address to give to his friends. Suffice it to say, this was not a sentimental moment. We are off again to pick up the now-stamped birth certificate which was to be ready by 3:00. I ask Victor to please take us home first. I was getting a cold/cough and had had enough Kyiv traffic for one day. We are dropped off with the assurance of a phone call later to confirm the passport application was submitted. At 7:00, I call Victor. Surprise. It was not submitted today. Turns out there was a mistake on the birth certificate so Victor spent the remainder of the afternoon getting a new one issued and legalized. This time a 2 day process is completed in 3 hours. So now we hope to get the application submitted on Monday. Still, the passport may be ready Wednesday, maybe Thursday. Maybe we can still leave on Friday? I hope so. I am thankful to be running around Kyiv doing the final paperwork to bring our boys home. There is no place I'd rather be; nothing I would rather be doing. But the thought of home is now being hung out there like a carrot and I am salivating for it.